Advocate Spotlight: Jocelyn Vega

Above Photo: From left, American Heart Association Heart Powered advocate and employee Jocelyn Vega, community impact director, was presented the Health Impact Award of Excellence by Valerie Gates, region associate executive vice president, Development & Community Health. On right, Lyzeth Mondragon, vice president of community impact, was also celebrated for her hard work in Chicagoland.  

From hunger to Heart: How one advocate turned childhood struggle into her life’s work 

Jocelyn Vega learned what hunger felt like long before she understood why it existed in her community. 

Growing up in Chicago, she often went to school with a constant worry about how long the food at home would last. Hunger wasn’t just a physical ache – it shaped her childhood, her focus and her sense of what was possible. 

“Hunger takes all your attention away from learning, growing and even being a sibling,” Jocelyn said. “You’re always running on an empty gas tank.” 

Those early experiences stayed with her. In 2023, Jocelyn carried them all the way to Washington, D.C., as an American Heart Association grassroots advocate. She was joined by her older sister, Daisy, and together they shared their story with lawmakers – speaking honestly about growing up without enough food to eat and how deeply it affected their health, education and opportunities.  

They hoped their representatives would listen and understand what it means to be a child whose biggest daily concern is food. 

As Jocelyn spoke that day, memories resurfaced – including one that had stayed with her for years. 

It was her freshman year at Cornell University, which she attended on a Posse Foundation Scholarship. She walked into the campus cafeteria and froze. There was an abundance of food. Endless options. Colorful choices on every counter. Students moved through the space casually, filling their plates without a second thought. 

That was the moment Jocelyn fully realized what she had grown up without. 

“Everyone else thought nothing of it,” she said. “For me, it was an ‘aha’ moment.” 

Sharing her story in Washington was emotional – and healing. But it also changed the direction of her life. 

During their time in D.C., Jocelyn and Daisy connected with American Heart Association staff. In one conversation, a staff member asked Jocelyn a simple but life-altering question:  

Had she ever considered working on hunger issues professionally? 

That question stayed with her. 

Not long after returning home, Jocelyn first applied for a position with the American Heart Association in Chicago. Less than a year later, she was hired – stepping into a job that felt less like work and more like a calling.  

Today, Jocelyn coordinates community impact projects across the Chicagoland region, working with food pantries, health clinics and nonprofit organizations that serve families living below the poverty line. 

She sees herself in the children and parents she serves, families who work hard and stretch every dollar yet still struggle to put enough food on the table. 

In 2025, Jocelyn was honored with the American Heart Association’s At the Heart of It “Rookie of the Year Award” for her community impact work in Chicago. The following year, she received an award recognizing her leadership in bringing multiple community projects to life. 

One recent initiative focused on connecting patients at a local health clinic with home blood pressure monitors, education, follow‑up services and referrals to local resources. 

“These opportunities are for people who would never be able to afford a blood pressure monitor on their own,” Jocelyn said. “It’s an honor to make sure high‑risk patients have what they need to take care of themselves. It could save their lives.” 

Jocelyn’s advocacy also extends beyond her community. She continues to speak out at the national level about the importance of nutrition programs and food access – especially as Congress debates federal nutrition policy. 

In 2023, lawmakers failed to pass a full five‑year farm bill and instead passed one-year extensions in 2024 and 2025. Unfortunately, in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Congress included cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that limit access and fundamentally change the structure of the program that may lead to some states opting not to offer SNAP anymore once in effect. As Congress works to pass a long-term farm bill, the American Heart Association is advocating to have these cuts rescinded to ensure our most vulnerable neighbors can eat. 

For Jocelyn, these policies are not abstract. They shape real lives. Lives like hers. 

Hunger may have defined her childhood, but it no longer defines her future. Today, as an American Heart Association staff member and Heart Powered grassroots advocate, it fuels her purpose. 

To learn more about the American Heart Association’s Heart Powered movement, and how you can work to support nutrition policy, text EAT to 46839 or visit HeartPowered.org.